The Legend of Balboa

In 1513, Balboa set out with 190 soldiers. Halfway across the Isthmus, some ninety miles wide at that point, only sixty soldiers remained. Indians from the area greeted Balboa with gold, jewels, and precious pearls. When he asked where these had come from, the Indians pointed south to the land of the Incas. Days later, he marched in his armor into its waters, bearing the banner of Castile. He claimed all its seas, lands, and islands in the name of the Spanish throne.